1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cleaning preparations which are particularly suitable for the pretreatment and prespotting of fabrics and which do not contain any halogenated hydrocarbons.
2. Statement of Related Art
Heavy local soil cannot always be satisfactorily removed from fabrics by washing in a washing machine. The reason for this lies in particular in the increasing popularity of easy-care washable fabrics which, to retain their properties, must only be washed at low washing temperatures, such as for example 60.degree. C. or only 30.degree. C. Such soil types as oil, particularly used engine oil, or pigment soil and mixtures thereof, are among the most difficult household stains, particularly at low washing temperatures. In many cases, therefore, particularly heavily soiled areas of the fabrics have to be pretreated with a cleaning preparation before washing. The effect of known, commercial fabric pretreatment preparations is largely based on a high content of halogenated hydrocarbons (HHCS), such as for example methylene chloride or perchloroethylene, or fluorinated hydrocarbons. Because of their effect on the environment, however, HHCS are having to be replaced by environmentally compatible raw materials.
Known stain removers are unsatisfactory due to their content of biologically non-degradable alkylphenol ethoxylates and their relatively high content of chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Liquid cleaning preparations containing water and organic solvents are known from German Patent No. 1,792,066. The surfactants used are mixtures of various nonionic alcohol alkoxylates, of which the principal constituent is a biologically non-degradable ethylene oxide/propylene oxide block polymer. Due to their water content, these known preparations are not suitable for packing in internally non-lacquered aerosol cans susceptible to corrosion. In addition, they are largely ineffectual against many soil types.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,339 describes propellent-containing cleaning preparations intended for spraying which contain chlorinated hydrocarbons in addition to alcohols differing in their degree of ethoxylation and hydrocarbon mixtures. Many other known products are inflammable due to their composition.